We bought our first house in London almost 2 years ago with not a thought to the idea of living anywhere else. Fast forward (or not) through the pandemic when I became a first time mum on the first day of the first lockdown. All of our family live in the North East, though none actually in Newcastle. I've had very minimal practical support over the past year due to lockdown and our house, which seemed huge when we moved in, now feels much less suited to our needs with working from home (our bedroom to be precise) and we have an almost walking 13 month old.
For the past few weeks we've talked about nothing but the potential of moving from London to Newcastle but wonder if we're being a bit hasty? We'd both need to find new jobs - I'm in an NHS clinical role and DH is in the private sector currently working from home but has discussed with his firm who have said long distance remote working won't be an option. If we left London we'd never get back on the property ladder here. We don't actually really know anyone in Newcastle itself but have loads of friends/family within an hour's drive. Our reasons for moving are both to be closer to family and potentially a much bigger property for our money. Has anyone made a similar Big Move with a young child and then really regretted it?
Also, does anyone know what the market in Newcastle is like at the moment? We'd be looking for a minimum of 3 bedrooms but likely 4 as would like to plan for another baby once the trauma of the pandemic first born has fully worn off... Gosforth is the area that most appeals but would love other suggestions of similar-ish places to look, but definitely family friendly with good access to shops, culture, leisure and okay for a non-driver (me).